Roland-designs.: Finally finished ! Berlin woolwork, and the names of stitches.

I'm really happy to announce that I'm finally finished stitching the Tønsberg tower. This original cross stitch project turned out more complicated then I had anticipated.

My first big hurdle was the colors, or more honestly the different shades of grey. The ones I had originally selected did not harmonize as I had envisioned, so I had to unpick and re-stitch a bit. The next big issue was my choice of fabric. I had started stitching on 32ct linen, but had to abandon the ¼ finished embroidery, and start again from scratch on 28ct linen. The reason is that with all the backstitch, and color change 32ct would make the embroidery look tight, and lumpy.

Now, I’m happy with the result and have a clearer understanding of how the limited pallet of grey embroidery floss DMC has to offer work together, and I can now think of the next castle picture to design…. Any suggestions ?

Tønsberg tower cross stitch picture.

One afternoon last week, I had an hour on my hand and decided to start sorting my collection of antique patterns….

One hour proved too short and I put everything back in the boxes and will allow myself several hours to sort it all out next time.

My collection has grown through the years and I had never taken the time to categorize it properly, the result being that I found ‘forgotten’ patterns at the bottom of boxes, along with dinosaur drawings from my son, baby photos, cat pictures, and old caricatures my little sister had done some 15 years ago….. Hmmm ! No wonder I can never find anything.

Old patterns and samplers need to be stored between neutral silk paper, or tissue paper. Some are moldy and need to be kept apart from the rest, and with all the different shapes and sizes I need to stack them up carefully to ensure none get more damaged then they already are.